Dilemma...vegan breakfast & our super fruity solution!

Our only dilemma with the vegan way is breakfast. We've really struggled to find solutions to our lack of vegan breakfast knowledge. We've searched cookbooks and scoured the Internet for recipes with no real 'winner'. The family always has too many critics in it to settle on a 'favorite'....well I think the dilemma is solved! What better to have for breakfast than fruit salad....even more what better to put that fruit salad in than a warm soft tortilla. Bingo, the Breakfast Fruit Burrito is born!

This breakfast is SO simple, just gather your favorite fruit and chop it up...check out CJ's favorite fruit below:

Tropical Fruit Salad:

2 kiwi's, diced

1 mango, diced

7 strawberries, sliced

½ pineapple, diced

a drizzling of agave nectar (optional, our fruit was no quite juicy ripe)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix. Let sit for 10 minutes to let flavors blend.

Serve fruit salad in warmed flour tortillas. We like Tortilla Land flour tortillas, we buy ours at Costco...with a large family we go through them fast!

While I was preparing this meal my boys were moping about making moaning sounds. I'm not sure if they were really convinced that it wasn't going to be good or if our last few attempts have just broken their spirits but it was a sad sight. I am SO pleased to share that it was a HUGE hit in our home!! Remember to have paper towels around as the fruit juices REALLY get flowing...enjoy!

Breakfast failure!

The other day my hubby and I decided to do an internet search for vegan breakfast ideas. CJ loves French toast and with our now no milk & eggs rule we thought French toast was out of the question…..until we came across a vegan version. CJ was sold on it from the get go because instead of milk & eggs it called for mashed bananas and soy milk….all natural! How about all disaster. It was MUSH that stuck to our nonstick skillet and ended up being scrambled French toast. Anyone out there ever used this recipe and had any luck?….please tell us your trick. In the mean time we’re still on the hunt for a good vegan French toast. Another one calls for tofu to replace the soy milk from the other recipe…don’t know if it will make that much of a difference but I’ll let you know!

Homemade Vegan Flour Tortillas

My brother spent 2 years in Honduras and when he returned he said that this tortilla recipe is just like what they make there. There's baking powder in the recipe making them a bit more chunky in comparison to that nasty stuff we eat here in the states called tortillas.

4 cups all-purpose flour (or 1:1 whole wheat and all-purpose mix)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
6 tablespoons coconut oil (because it almost has the consistency of lard)

1¼ cups hot water

¼ cup non-dairy milk (I use soy)

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt, cut in the coconut oil until fine soft crumbs form and you can no longer see chunks of coconut oil.

Add the water and non-dairy milk and mix by hand (this is the fun part, but remember to remove your rings!). Once ingredients are well incorporated and you have a smooth dough, cover and let rest for 20 minutes DO NOT SKIP THIS PART IT MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN THE TEXTURE OF THE DOUGH).

Divide the dough into about 18 equal portions (I have a kitchen scale I use). Using one portion at a time (cover the remaining dough) roll out on a lightly floured surface to about a 7-inch diameter. Cook on a non-stick skillet at medium-high heat. Keep in a tortilla warmer or in the oven at the lowest temperature wrapped in a damp towel (be sure not to use fabric softener on your kitchen towels or you'll have some awful tasting tortillas....trust me I know!) until ready to use. ENJOY!

my childhood grocery list

If you would have asked me a month ago about going vegan I would have laughed in your face. Growing up I didn’t have the greatest examples when it came to food. My mother, bless her heart would occasionally nibble on fudge in the mornings…actually any time of the day. My family’s idea of healthy is turkey bacon fried in two inches of canola oil, ‘canola oil is healthy’ they’d say….uggg! My dad goes on these ‘health’ kicks where he limits his fat to 30g per day. He looses weight but maintaining that for him is a killer.

Switch over to my husbands youth. As a child his father was VERY health conscious and wouldn’t allow sugar in the house. Everything was sweetened with honey…..they were labeled as ‘extreme’ if you can believe that. While I grew up on fluffy, pillowy soft white bread my husband was having dense stone ground homemade wheat bread that never rose higher than 1½ inches. At the time he was embarrassed to show up with his pb&j sandwiches to the school cafeteria but he is now VERY grateful that he was raised the way he was. While I struggle to stay away from the unhealthy whiteness that reminds me of my childhood the hubby has no problem with going whole grain. Lucky for me he’s my rock and we have raised our kids on whole grains with the occasional white flour tortilla in the mix.

I really am surprised at how seamless the transition to vegan has been for me, in fact the hubby was the first to have any kind of slip up….although I understand why, when you stay with others you can’t be rude and turn every bit of food away they present to you. He’s forgiven. Actually since we aren’t switching to vegan for moral issues, more health than anything, I really don’t see the need to make a big fuss about his slip-up. We’re on track and LOVING how we feel….YAY VEGAN!

Thin Crust Vegan Pizza

DOUGH
1 1/3 cup warm water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 2/3 cups white whole-wheat flour
1 2/3 cups unbleached bread flour
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
cornmeal for dusting

In a large bowl add the water and yeast and let sit until bubbly. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl blend the flours and sea salt together.

When yeast is bubbly add flour mixture to yeast mix, blend with a wooden spoon and then mix with hands. Knead for about 5 minutes, cover and let rest for 5 more minutes. After dough has rested knead again for a minute or two, until dough is smooth and elastic and slightly sticky.

Divide dough into 6 equal portions. Roll dough out on a cornmeal dusted counter until desired thickness is achieved (we like thin crust!) Add toppings of choice (*see our favorites below) and bake at 425 degrees for about 8 to 10 minutes or until crust is lightly browned and crispy.

CJ'S FAVORITE TOPPINGS:
Trader Giotto's Tomato Basil Marinara (found at Trader Joe's....I LOVE that place!)
Dairy free mozzarella and cheddar style shreds (we like the Daiya brand, found in health food stores)
fresh spinach....none of that frozen stuff
diced tomatoes
fresh basil
green onions, sliced
yellow onion, sliced
sliced olives
mushrooms

Enjoy!

Homemade bread....no eggs, no milk!

While it IS possible to purchase bread without eggs and milk product {Dave's Killer Bread}, it's also possible to go broke doing it! My kids go through A LOT of bread {oh those beloved pb&j sandwiches} and that's why I've been making my own. A few years ago friend gave me a recipe her mother and grandmother have used for years and I was thrilled to find {everybody now} no eggs or milk in the ingredient list....woohoo! I've made some pretty substantial changes to the recipe to make it easier for me to work with and to fit my families needs. Anybody interested?....okay, okay here it is:

JVW Bread

1 1/2 cup water

1 Tbsp. yeast

1/3 c. agave nectar

1/3 c. olive oil

2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. ground flaxseed

4-6 cups wheat flour mix {1:1 ratio whole white wheat flour {whole wheat pastry flour} to bread flour}...I find the 4 cups to be a sufficient amount

bread flour for dusting {kneading}

Place water, yeast and about a tablespoon of the 1/3 cup agave nectar in the bowl of an electric mixer {I've got a KitchenAid that I LOVE and unfortunately have found myself in some pretty heated discussions about KitchenAid vs. Bosch} and let the yeast 'bloom'....um it's a fancy bread making term for bubble.

Next, while the mixer is on and with the paddle attachment {yes, I know that there is a fancy hook attachment for making bread....be patient, it's coming} add the remaining agave nectar, olive oil, and salt. Next add about 2 cups of the flour 1/2 cup at a time. Once it's mixed in add the ground flaxseed.

{here it is!} Remove the paddle attachment and attach the fancy hook attachment. Add just enough of the remaining flour mix JUST until the dough is no longer clinging to the side of the bowl and is no longer tacky to the touch {do not add too much flour as this would lend a dense bread}.

Remove bread from bowl onto floured surface and knead by hand {I just can't let the machine take this step away from me} for about 10 minutes {with practice you'll know when the bread is ready to rise, you'll have an elastic dough that is easy to work with}. Place dough in a well oiled container, {I like Alton Brown's idea for a container} and cover; let rise until doubled.

Once doubled place dough on counter, flatten and fold into 1/3's, rotating and folding 2 to 3 times. Roll into a log and place into desired loaf pans. Bake at 350̊  making sure to cover if top begins to brown too much for 25 minutes....ummm, I don't think I bake mine for the full 25 minutes. I bake it until I start to really smell the bread, then I cover it and bake it a bit longer. Every oven is different and the first time I made this bread in my NOW oven {piece of junk} it was almost burnt on the outside and raw on the inside in 15 minutes! Covering with foil is a MUST if you oven is ANYTHING like mine and who knows maybe I do end up baking for the full 25, I just know that once that timer is set I feel like I have been limited {silly I know}. Just experiment with the time anywhere between 15-25 minutes would work I'm sure.

Cool on a wire rack and slice into desired thickness...mmm, doesn't it look SO good! IT IS!

Enjoy!

In the beginning....

 Our journey to Veganism came slowly. My husband and I have always been aware of the foods that we eat...not that that would stop us from eating them but we had a good knowledge of what was good for us vs. what was bad for us....according to popular reason. My father & mother-in-law have both enjoy a {mostly} raw foods diet since all of the kids are {finally} out of the house. We really enjoy talking with them and having them share their knowledge of food in it's raw form with us.

About a year ago my husband and I sat down with our little family and experienced the film Super Size Me, we were appalled at what the 'fast food diet' could do to the body. While this detoured us from fast food we were still pretty careless in our everyday eating.....until, a few weeks ago we watched Food Inc. & Forks over Knives. Both my husband and I watched these two documentaries and decided to make some major changes...no animal products! "WHAT?" our friends say, and then they jump into explaining every reason in the book as to why THEY could never make that kind of change. I really don't care if anyone else makes this change, I can just say that it's only been a week and I feel FANTASTIC! My energy level is up and my husband's {awful} allergies have seemed to subside...we'll keep you posted on any more health progress we make.

The kids! I know that people think this is VERY extreme and their concern turns to the kids....'they don't have a voice in this' I can hear it running through their heads as the look crosses their faces. They DO have a voice in this and have the choice to go with it or dump it. Wish us luck on our vegan journey....I'm SO excited!